Local News

Marriage Proponents Hail Judge's Ruling

(Cincinnati) -- Earlier this month, Federal Judge Timothy Black said he would issue a ruling ordering the State of Ohio to recognize same sex marriages from jurisdictions that legally authorize them. Monday morning, that ruling came out.

The ruling only means that the state of Ohio has to recognize same sex marriages performed in other states, and does not do anything to Ohio's Constitutional amendment banning gay marriages. 17, and the District of Columbia have legalized gay unions. Ohio's Constitutional ban still stands, but, District Courts in five other states have struck down Constitutional bans on gay marriage, and in February, a federal judge declared unconstitutional Kentucky's refusal to recognize same-sex marriages from other jurisdictions.

Kentucky's Governor and Ohio's Attorney General have both said they'd appeal.

A proponent of same sex marriage in Ohio was hoping Attorney General Mike Dewine didn't go through with his promise to appeal the ruling. Mike Premo says the state's appeal will only draw the process out, and will in the end, waste taxpayer money. The campaign manager for Why Marriage Matters Ohio says he expects the ruling to inspire more court challenges to Ohio's ban on same sex marriages.

Ohio voters approved the Constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage in 2004. While this ruling doesn't affect that, Councilman Chris Seelbach says it demonstrates a change. Seelbach says judges are recognizing that the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution does extend to gay and lesbian couples. And he says if a vote on Ohio's ban were held today, he'd expect a much different result.